James Rodríguez is confident Colombia can beat Brazil in their World Cup quarter-final.

Colombia went through to the last-eight for the first time in their history courtesy of an impressive 2-0 win against Uruguay. Rodríguez starred, as he has so many times over the past few weeks, and scored one of the best individual efforts of the tournament before finishing off one of the best team goals. The 22-year-old’s brace means Colombia will now take on the hosts in Fortaleza on Friday.

“We’re very happy because we are making history,” Rodríguez said, collecting his third man-of-the-match award of the tournament. “As a younger man, I always wanted to be here. That was a great dream of mine and we hope that we can make it far. It is a dream and we are making history and we want to do even more because this is a team that wants to win a lot.

“There is no pressure. Obviously they have their good players, they play well but I believe they must also follow us closely. We have good players and we can be dangerous, so this is going to be a beautiful match. It will be something extraordinary for us to play.”

The match at the Estádio Castelão is a mouthwatering prospect and one in which the buildup is sure to focus on the individual merits of Neymar and Rodríguez. The latter was praised to the hilt for display against Uruguay, with his Colombia coach, José Pékerman, saying Rodríguez has “every attribute of a top-notch player at a world level” and that he “never had any doubts that this was going to be his World Cup”.

“Well, thank you,” Rodríguez said when told of Tabárez’s comments. “It is a matter of great pride that someone like him has said that. I only want to help us so that the team can win. I want to help and do my share so that Colombia will make it far.

“Regarding Brazil, they are a hard team, they have great players and they also have their history. I believe that we have to come out onto the pitch to win as we have always done and to always attempt to win. I only want to help. I am at a good level, we’re also scoring goals and I am happy because of that.”

While Colombia can look forward to taking on the hosts, Uruguay were left ruing missed opportunities and the absence of Suárez. The forward’s four-month ban dominated the runup to a match in which his clinical finishing was clearly missing.

“We knew Colombia had a very good side, one that is able to keep possession and featuring very good players who contribute to the team,” said Tabárez. “In the first half, they dictated the tempo and we conceded one of the goals of the tournament. In the second half, we made mistakes and conceded again. Then we had to take risks to reduce the deficit, but we came up against a ‘keeper who performed extraordinarily well and didn’t let us back into the match. But I’m proud of these players. Once again they showed character and gave it their all.”